As he draws close enough to make out details, he realizes that it's not a fire but several torches. Now much more cautious, he slows down and stops some distance away from the light, then gets down from his horse. Leaving his horse behind, he makes his way closer on foot and sees that the torches are held by soldiers of the Empire. A wagon is there as well and he watches in shock as an unconscious James is being loaded into the bed of the wagon.
A brown robed man is directing those placing James in the wagon and seems to be the one in charge. When James is finally within the bed of the wagon, the brown robed man climbs up onto the wagon seat as he gives orders to the driver. With a flick of the reins the horses get under way and the wagon begins to trundle back to town.
The dozen foot soldiers accompany them on their way back. Jiron is momentarily stunned that James could've been taken with so few soldiers. He's seen him blast away dozens before, the area should've at least looked devastated. But looking around, it looks like they just walked right up and threw him in the wagon.
Whatever happened, he doesn't have time to just stand there and ponder the imponderable. Hurrying back to his horse, he mounts up and follows the wagon at a discreet distance. When they arrive at the town, he's glad they're entering a different area than the one where he stirred things up earlier. Securing his horse to a tree outside the wall, he again jumps up and pulls himself to the other side as the wagon passes through the nearby gate.
He follows them through town, staying within the shadows and alleys. When he comes to avenues that he must cross in order to follow, he just strides right out and blends in with the few people on the street. Looking like you belong has always been the best way for him to remain undetected. If you look like you're about your business, most people fail to even notice you.
The wagon continues rolling through town until it comes to an estate with a wall more formidable than the outer town wall had been. Guards are posted at the gates and the robed man says a few words to them as the wagon passes through. Once the wagon is within the estate, the gate closes. The accompanying foot soldiers turn and march down the street away from the estate.
The wall surrounding the estate has nasty looking spikes along the top to deter anybody from going over. Jiron has scaled those types before, but never made it over unscathed. He's anxious to get in for he doesn't know how much time James will have before they begin the interrogation. Hopefully they'll most likely wait at least until he regains consciousness. But with mages, you never know what they can do to revive someone. He's got to get in there!
He does a quick survey of the wall encompassing the estate, which by the way is fairly large and discovers the spikes run its entire length. Sighing, he comes to the conclusion that he's going to have to risk the spikes.
Going over to a neighboring house, he acquires several shirts which are lying in a heap at the back door. He wraps them around his arms. Though they're not very good protection against the spikes, they're still better than nothing.
Glancing around, he makes sure he'll remain unobserved and then jumps up, grabbing the top of the wall. Using extreme care, he pulls himself up and braces himself as he crosses over the spikes. A sudden pain erupts from his left thigh as a spike pushes through his leggings and punctures his skin.
He pushes his leg off the spike with his left hand and then a pain erupts from his left arm as another spike scores through the layers of shirts. When he finally makes it down to the other side, he has several pinpoint punctures on his arms and legs. Fortunately, none are very deep or serious, just bleeding slightly. He knew people back in the City of Light who had attempted a similar feat and had muscles and tendons tore from the spikes. Removing the shirts from his arms, he leaves them on the ground by the wall.
Looking toward the estate, he watches from the shadows as the wagon stops in front of the main entrance. The brown robed man gets down as several waiting attendants remove James from the wagon. Following behind the mage, they carry him into the house and the door closes behind them.
Continuing to watch the house for a few minutes, he finally sees a light appear in a second story window, most likely where they've put James. Turning his attention back to the grounds surrounding the estate, he takes notice of two guards walking a set path around the estate. After watching them for several circuits around the house, he observes a gap between their paths that he may be able to take advantage of. When the first guard passes in front of the house, the second one is patrolling behind it, leaving a gap of several seconds before he makes his appearance again.
Jiron waits until the first guard has passed over halfway past the front of the house and then leaves his hiding spot in the shadows by the wall. Silently running across the open space to the side of the house, he keeps an eye on the back of the first guard until he turns the corner. Ducking behind a bush, he hides himself from view just as the second guard turns the corner. Holding very still, he watches the guard from behind the bush as he passes by.
Looking up from his position behind the bush, he sees the window that he believes James is in directly above his head on the second floor. The first floor window near him is ajar so he waits for the first guard to pass again before quietly opening it and slipping into the house. Once inside, he closes the window before the second guard turns the corner.
The room he finds himself in looks to be a library, shelves of books line the walls and several comfortable looking chairs are spaced around the room. James would love this James would love this. A single door leads from the room. Making his way over to it, he places his ear against the door and listens for any sound coming from the other side. Not hearing anything, he opens the door a crack and finds the hallway on the other side to be dark and empty.
Exiting the room, he closes the door behind him and then looks down both directions of the hallway. The hallway to the left is dark, further down to the right is a barely perceptible light. Deciding in favor of the light, he moves silently down the hallway toward it. He passes several closed doors before reaching a flight of stairs leading up to the second floor. The light is coming from the flickering of an unseen candle in the hallway beyond the top of the stairs.
Taking the steps quickly and quietly, he ascends to the top where he pauses to peer around the corner. Several burning candles line the empty hallway, allowing no shadows in which to conceal himself. A door further down to the left stands ajar several inches, voices can be heard emanating from within.
He decides to risk detection and creeps quickly down the hallway to the door, peering inside. Within the room are several people, including the brown robe. James is sprawled out unconscious upon a bed to the side of the room and one of the men is examining his eyes. The man turns to the mage and makes a comment as he lets go of James' eyelids, allowing them to close.
All of James' things are sitting on top of a nearby table, including the medallion that he used to open the secret door back in the City. A few more words are exchanged and then they all turn and move toward the door behind which Jiron is spying on them.
Panicking, he bolts back to the stairs and descends to the bottom as fast as he can to avoid being seen. Once there, he listens from around the corner and hears their footsteps coming down the hallway toward the top of the stairs. About ready to run back down the hallway to the library, he stops when he realizes they're continuing down the second floor hallway past the stairs.
Relieved, he again creeps to the top of the stairs and peers around the corner. Two guards stand at the door to the room holding James. He pauses there at the top of the stairs and ponders the situation. Apparently, they're not going to interrogate James immediately, it didn't look as if he was even conscious. Gotta get in that room!
Deciding on a plan that's rather risky in nature, he returns to the room where he initially entered the house and goes back to the window. Watching for the patrolling guards, he soon sees the first one pass. He opens the window and slips outside, shutting it before the second one turns the corner.
The largest gap is after the first one passes, the second one seems to be lagging behind, so he sits and waits until the second one passes. Then, when he sees the first one turn the corner and approach, he makes ready. Once the guard has gone ten feet past his hiding place, Jiron gets to his feet and begins scaling the wall of the estate up to James' room.
He gets ten feet up the wall before the second guard appears around the corner. Holding absolutely motionless there on the wall, he waits for the guard to pass beneath. Sweating, heart pounding fast, he watches as the guard approaches, knowing that if the guard but looks up, he's dead.
Walking toward the spot where Jiron hangs precariously upon the wall, the guard draws ever closer and then passes a scant two feet beneath Jiron as he continues on his way. Stopping the sigh of relief that almost escapes him, he waits until the guard moves further away then he maneuvers to the window and positions himself so he can look inside. He sees James still there on the bed, the door closed and no one else is in the room.
Realizing the first guard is about to turn the corner, he moves away from the light coming through the window and back into the shadows. He holds still as he waits for the guard to turn the corner and pass underneath. Once he's past, Jiron returns to the window and attempts to open it. The window opens easily and he slips inside before the second guard makes his appearance. He shuts the window just as the second guard turns the corner and then moves silently over to the bed upon which James is lying.
He looks like he's sleeping. Jiron shakes his shoulder in an attempt to wake him. What's wrong with him What's wrong with him? His eyes open a fraction and then he mumbles something incoherently before slipping back into unconsciousness. Now what? Now what?
Trying to determine the best way to get him out of the house, he realizes going out the door would be a bad idea. The guards standing outside would alert the whole house to his presence. He might be able to hold his own against the guards, but he would stand little chance against the mage. That leaves the window.
He moves back to the window and peers out, trying to avoid casting his silhouette from the candle on the table across the window. Other than the two guards passing at intervals around the house, the only other guard visible is stationed at the gate. A plan begins to form and he waits until the first guard passes by before slipping back out the window. He closes the window once he's securely clinging to the side of the house and manages to maneuver down the side a little before the second guard rounds the corner.
After the second guard passes by below, he drops silently to the ground and immediately ducks behind the bush. The guard pauses a moment as he looks back in his direction. Not seeing Jiron hiding behind the bushes, he turns back and resumes his trek around the house.
He waits for the first guard to pass again before racing across the lawn to the wall and the safety of the shadows there. Pausing a moment to see if he was seen, he then moves silently toward the gate and the guard stationed there. Luckily, the gate is poorly illuminated on this side of the wall so it's easy enough for him to sneak upon the guard and quickly silence him. He pulls the guard's dead body along the wall and stuffs it behind several bushes.
Checking the gate, he finds it locked. Returning to the dead guard, he searches his pockets until he finds a set of keys. Returning to the gate, he uses the keys to unlock it and then places a stone against its base to prevent it from swinging open and announcing to everyone that something's not right.
He goes back to the deeper shadows along the wall as he watches the two guards continuing their patrol. When the first one passes again, he races once more to the side of the house and again hides behind the bush until the second one has passed. Then when the first one rounds the corner and passes by the bush he's hiding behind, he jumps out and grabs the guard from behind. Quickly and quietly he slits the guard's throat with his knife, then drags the body back behind the bush and lays it against the house.
Taking his place behind the bush, he waits for the second guard to round the corner and pass by. He again jumps out and silences him the same way he did the first. When the second guard's body lies next to the first, he begins to scale the wall, this time more interested in speed than in avoiding making noise.
At the window to James' room, he cautiously peers in and with relief, finds him still sleeping and alone. Opening the window, he slips in and closes it behind him. Moving across the room to a chest of drawers, he begins sliding them open until he finds what he's looking for. The third one down from the top holds what he needs, a spare sheet.
He takes it and goes over to James where he begins tying it under his arms. The sound of approaching footsteps coming down the hallway toward the room warns him someone is on their way. Jiron quickly removes the sheet from around James and slides under the bed, scooting as far back against the wall as he can.
The bedroom door opens and two men come in, quietly talking to each other. They walk over to the bed, their feet mere inches away from the spot where Jiron is hiding. It seems as if they're seeing whether James is ready for interrogation or not. After they stand there for a few minutes conferring with one another, both men turn and walk back out the door.
Slipping from under the bed, Jiron again ties the sheet tightly under James' arms. When he has it secured, he goes over to the window and opens it wide. Returning to the bed, he lifts James up and carries him to the widow where he sets him on the window sill.
Taking a firm hold of the sheet, he eases him over the edge and begins to quickly lower him to the ground below. The sheet isn't quite long enough to reach the ground and ends up having to drop him the last three feet to the ground where he lands with a thud. Hoping James hasn't broken anything, Jiron slips out the window and begins to descend the side of the house when he suddenly remembers James' medallion and the other items sitting on the table.
Sighing, he goes back inside and quickly grabs James' empty pouch that's sitting on the floor and scrapes everything off the table into it. Tossing it out the window so it lands near James, he again begins his descent and closes the window.
Once on the ground, he takes the pouch and secures it to his belt, then he removes the sheet from James. Picking him up, he slings him over his shoulder as he heads to the gate.
Running as best he can with James' added weight, he crosses the distance quickly. Upon reaching the gate, he kicks the rock that was set to keep it closed to the side. Pushing the gate open wide, he starts through just as a cry arises from the house. Glancing back, he sees someone at the window to the room where James had been held, hollering and pointing in their direction.
He passes through the gate quickly and closes it behind him, locking it with the key in the hopes of slowing down the pursuit. With James slung over his shoulder, he runs down the deserted street and then enters an alley to cut over to the next street. Running as fast as he can, he quickly reaches the end of the alley and then turns to the right. Racing down another deserted street, he tries to put as much distance between himself and pursuit all the while working to make it to the edge of town.
After running down the street another two blocks, he sees a group of people far ahead of him in the street. Ducking down a nearby alley, he moves into it a short distance before coming to a stop. It's a dead end! Turning around, he moves to leave the alley when several figures enter from the street and block his escape.
Chapter Twenty Six.
One of the shadows says something to him as they advance further into the alley.
Still having James slung over his shoulder, he waits to see what they intend before doing anything. They're obviously not part of the pursuit from the estate.
Another shadow says something in an excited and animated fashion while pointing toward him.
Jiron takes in the situation. Without James to worry about, he probably would have little difficulty with these guys. But with him to protect and pursuit on the way, he just isn't sure what to do.
He begins backing into the alley away from them and watches as another ten shadows detach themselves from the dark and join the ones already moving his way. The street behind the approaching shadows begins to lighten up and the sound of running feet can be heard approaching.
One of the shadows from the edge of the alley says something and the one who appears to be the leader of the group barks out a command. Suddenly they all become still as they melt back into the shadows to either side of the alley.
Jiron realizes they're trying to remain unnoticed by those approaching. And then they will finish dealing with him. He decides to take a chance and when those running along the street begin to pass in the front of the alley, he shouts out, "Okay boys, let's take 'em out!"
The men passing by come to a sudden stop and turn to look in the alley. The light from their torches reveals the thieves standing against the walls of the alley, their knives out. One of the men on the street shouts a command and three crossbow bolts fly into the alley. Thieves cry out as they're struck by the bolts and fall to the ground. The men out on the street then rush into the alley with their swords drawn as they move to attack.
The leader of the thieves shouts something to the approaching men, but whatever he says fails to have any effect. Left with little choice, the thieves proceed to defend themselves against the attackers.
Jiron watches in satisfaction as the men and thieves begin to fight. He moves to the rear of the alley, away from the fighting and hunts for a way out. Near the end he finds a closed door. Carrying James over to it he checks it and finds it locked. Drawing his knife, he uses it on the lock and manages to get it open. Passing through the door, he glances one last time at the embattled men and grins as he closes it behind him and resets the lock. The thieves are getting the worst of it.
The sound of fighting follows him as he makes his way further into the dark room, searching for a way out. In total darkness he stumbles about, once almost losing his balance as he trips over a small stool sitting in the middle of the floor. He eventually comes across the door. Opening it a crack, he looks out onto a dark hallway that has a faint light coming in through an open doorway further down.
Moving down the hallway, he reaches the doorway where the light is emanating from. Peering in, he sees an empty living room. The light turns out to be moonlight coming in through a window by the front door. He cautiously makes his way though the living room to the window where he looks out onto the street. First one way, then the other, he checks to make sure no one is out there. Not seeing anyone, he moves to the door and opens it slowly.
Suddenly, banging can be heard coming from the door to the alley, the fighting back in the alley must have come to an end. Floorboards creak overhead as the owner of the house is awakened and begins making his way down to see what all the commotion is about.
Jiron slips out the front door and shuts it behind him. His shoulders begin to ache from James' dead weight as he quickly makes his way along the side of the street, trying his best to keep to the shadows. He passes several buildings until he comes to an inn on the right. Ducking down the alley on this side of the building, he hears his pursuers entering the street from the house he just left. For a brief moment he wonders what happened to the men who had originally accosted him in the alley, but that question will have to remain unanswered.
As silently as possible, he makes his way down the alley to the courtyard behind the inn. The gate is open and he hurries through just as the pursuers pass the mouth of the alley he just vacated, on their way to search for him further down the street.
He glances back down the alley, thankfully discovering none of those hunting for him had thought to come this way. Setting James down against the inner wall of the courtyard, he makes his way over to the stables, in search of a couple of horses.
Once within the stables, he finds a stableboy asleep in a small room at the far end. He wakes him up by placing a knife at his throat and motions for him to remain quiet. The boy nods and remains quiet as Jiron ties him up and places a gag in his mouth to keep him quiet. Then he goes back to the horses and begins saddling two of them.
After he's saddled them, he returns to where he left James. Picking him up, he carries him over to the stable where he puts him on one of the horses. Taking out a length of rope, he ties him securely to the saddle. Once James is secured, he goes over to where the stableboy is tied up and places ten gold pieces on the ground before him. He points to the gold and then to the horses and the stableboy nods his head. Whether he understands the gold is for the horses' owners or not, Jiron isn't sure, but his conscience is clear.
Mounting up, he takes the reins of James' horse and leads him out of the stables to the courtyard. Pausing momentarily at the entrance to the alley, he makes sure it's clear before leaving the courtyard and entering into the alley. He makes his way toward the end of the alley where he again pauses to look in either direction down the street.
For the moment, the street appears deserted, but he can hear commotion on neighboring streets as the search for them continues. He enters the street with James' horse in tow and begins heading toward the part of town that seems to have the least amount of disturbance going on.
Moving as quickly as he can, he continues along toward the edge of town, somehow avoiding the roving patrols. Coming out of an alley he sees the wall ahead of him. Keeping close to the buildings, he rides along in the shadows until reaching a gate. Where before there had been but two guards, now they have been increased to a squad of twenty and the gate is shut and locked. His plan to ride through the guards at the gate is no longer feasible, he'll have to find another way out of the city.
Realizing he's now sitting on useless horses, he makes his way to a side alley and dismounts. James begins mumbling incoherently as Jiron removes him from his horse. "Not now!" he whispers vehemently to him. The last thing he needs is for James' nonsensical ramblings to attract notice.
Once removed from the horse, James continues to mumble, thankfully not very loud. He throws him across his shoulders again as he quickly makes for the wall. Upon reaching it, Jiron pushes him up and rests him across the top before he climbs up next to him. He then carefully lowers him down to the other side and then swings over as he lets go, feet landing on the ground next to where James had settled. It doesn't take him long to realize that he is now on the opposite side of the town from where his horse waits for him.
Shouldering James once more, he begins making his way to the other side of town, detouring occasionally when a search party on horseback comes into view. During one such time while he was hiding among some bushes, waiting for a search party to pass, he notices that James' eyes were open and looking around.
"You awake now?" he asks him.
James nods his head yes, but is still having trouble talking, slurring his speech so bad as to be unintelligible.
"Can you walk?" Jiron asks.
He shakes his head no.
"Damn!" Jiron silently exclaims as he hoists James across his shoulders yet again and hurries along. When he comes to the spot where he had left his horse, he finds that it's no longer there. He quickly looks around the area but finds no trace of it anywhere. Someone must've come along and helped themselves to it.
Without horses, they're not likely going to make it very far. He sits James down and says, "Stay here!" When he gets no response, he asks, "Understand?"
James gives him a wobbly nod.
"I'll be back. I need to get a couple horses," he tells him. Leaving him hidden there among the bushes, Jiron moves through the night until he sees two riders riding leisurely back into town. They're not in any hurry. Perfect!
Angling to intercept them, he races through the dark. The moon above enables him to see the terrain well enough to keep from tripping over the desert shrubs. Just a dark shadow in the night, he maneuvers until he's directly behind them.
The riders talk to each other, occasionally laughing at the witticism of the other, totally oblivious to the impending attack coming up behind them. He paces them for several feet until the space between the two horses closes to just the right distance. Then, running as fast as he can, he races to catch them. As he nears, he jumps and grabs each from behind and pulls them backward off their horses.
As the two men hit the ground, Jiron draws his knives and advances on the one getting to his feet first. He kicks out and connects with the man's middle, knocking him over again and then attacks with his knives before the man has a chance to recover. A quick stab through the chest ends the man's life.
Jiron turns to face his partner who is now ready with sword and shield. The man thrusts with his sword, Jiron able to deflect it easily to the side. He tries to counterstrike with his other knife but it's knocked aside by the man's shield.
They circle each other for a second then the man strikes out with an overhand blow that Jiron has to sidestep to avoid. As the sword swings past him, Jiron strikes out with one of his knives and scores a cut along the man's sword arm.
Angered, the man advances rapidly and begins attacking him with a flurry of blows that Jiron easily avoids or deflects aside. He continues to defend against the man's attack, waiting for his chance. Patience is often a knife fighter's best friend.
Suddenly, the opening presents itself and he strikes out at the man's sword arm. The man cries out as his sword drops to the ground after Jiron's knife severs the tendons in his arm. He pushes Jiron back with his shield as he cradles his arm, trying to stop the blood from pumping out.
Jiron goes on the offensive and after a quick series of blows which the man cannot defend against with just a shield, he sinks to the ground, eyes vacant as death takes him. Jiron wipes his knives on the man's tunic before returning them to their sheaths. Gathering the horses, he mounts one and takes the reins of the other as he rides back to where he left James. It takes a minute to locate the exact spot where he left him, but a hushed call from James leads him there.
He gets down from his horse to help James into the saddle. No sooner is James in the saddle then the hoof beats of a patrol is heard coming their way. Jiron takes a piece of rope and quickly secures him to the saddle, all the while listening to the patrol coming closer and closer. Finished with securing James, he quickly mounts and they wait in silence as the patrol passes by in the dark. He then leads them out into the desert, away from the city. Behind them, the sound of patrol begins to recede in the distance as they move further away. Once the sound of the patrol can no longer be heard, Jiron brings the two horses to a gallop as they begin to cover the miles quickly. After traveling for some time, he hears James holler, "Stop!"
He brings the horses to a halt and then looks back to see James untying himself. Slipping off the horse, James doubles up and begins to retch into the dirt. Once his stomach is again under control, he stands back up and leans against his horse for support.
"You okay?" Jiron asks.
"Better," he assures him, his speech only slightly affected.
"What happened to you?" Jiron asks, dismounting and coming over to him.
"Not really sure," he replies. "I remember you leaving and then things get kind of fuzzy after that. I remember being carried over your shoulder through town, or at least parts of it. But nothing really clear until a short time ago when I came to on the horse."
Jiron relates to James the events from when he returned to the camp and found him being loaded onto the wagon until now. "They must've done something to you," he states.
"I agree," he says. "Probably a drug of some kind."
"Think so?" Jiron asks.
"It would make sense," he replies. "A mage who's drugged wouldn't be able to focus clearly and do magic. Actually, it was quite effective." Holding his head, he looks to Jiron.
"I would say so," he agrees. "Can you do magic now?"